Freedom of Information in United Kingdom

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in North Ireland

The Freedom of Information Act came into force on 1 January 2005. It gives you the right to ask any public body for all the information it has on any subject you choose.

On receiving your information request, public authorities must acknowledge and log it. They must then answer the request within 20 working days, unless they are unsure whether the information should be exempt, in which case they are allowed more time for consultation. They have no right to ask the reason for your request.

Although authorities can refuse vexatious requests and those that would be disproportionately expensive to fulfil, the Act requires them to help you as far as is reasonable.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• Freedom of Information in the Encyclopedia of Britain
• Freedom of Information in the Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
• Freedom of Information in the Halsbury’s Laws of England
• Freedom of Information in the Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases
• Freedom of Information in the Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law
• Freedom of Information in the New Oxford Companion to Law
• Freedom of Information in the Words and Phrases Legally Defined
• Freedom of Information in the Oxford Dictionary of Law